Key performance features required in golf balls include distance, controllability, durability and feel at impact. Balls endowed with these qualities in the highest degree are constantly being sought. A succession of golf balls having multilayer constructions typically composed of three pieces have emerged in recent years. By having the golf ball construction be multilayered, it is possible to combine numerous materials of differing properties, enabling a wide variety of ball designs to be obtained in which each layer has a particular function.
For example, JP-A 2003-190331, JP-A 2006-289065, JP-A 2009-95358 and JP-A 2017-46930 describe golf balls in which the core hardness distribution is optimized by forming the core as two layers and varying the hardness from the center to the surface of the core. However, to achieve a greater flight performance and impart higher controllability on approach shots, there remains room for improvement in the construction of these prior-art golf balls.